Improvement in the motive mechanisms of sewing-machines



. Y tintin fnde vanos vvnrrrnuonn, or 'canmoenron'n Massncuusnrrs.

Letters Patent No. 109,478, dated November 22, 1870; antedated November 14,1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN'THE MOTIVE MECHANISMSCF SEWING-MACHINES.

The Schedule referred to in theseLefttrs Patent ansi` makingpart of the sane.

To all whom .it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AMos WnITrnMonmjo' .Cam-- biidgeport, in the county of Middlesex and State :of Massachusetts, have invented a new and improved Sewing-Machine- Mechanism:` and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is asection taken transversely and vcrtically through a sewing-machine table, showing, my improvement applied toit. y

Figure 2 is a view in detail, showing the manner of applying the clutch-arm tothe hub ofthe main spurwheel.

. Similar letters of.A reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures.

The object ot this invention is to relieve vpersons who vsit at sewing-machines from the tiresome and in- Y 'j nrious labor required to work the rockingfoot-stands, and to employ in lieuthereof a vibrating pendnlous pedal which is connected by a clutch to the shaft of the main driving-wheel, so as'to allow the operator to transmit a continuous rotary mot-ion to the said'wheel byan easy forward-and-backavard movement of the' foot and leg, which movement may be either intermittent or regular, shorter or longer,'as may be desired.

I also provide a vibrating seat or support for the operator, and when desired connect this support to the vibrating clutch, so that the operator, by-a slight forward-aud-backward movement of the body, can communicate rotary motion to themain driving-wheel.

AAnd I also apply the vibrating seat to a movable base support, which will admit the removal of this seat from the machine when desired.

And, iinally,-I adapt the pitmau or the arm, which is used to connect the vibrating seatV to the clutch, to

serve, when disconnected from said clutch, as a leg to the seat to hold it stationary, all as will beliereinat'ter explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will describe its construction and op; eration.

In the accompanying drawing A represents the top of a sewing-machine table, and

l' the legs or standards thereof;

Gis a horizontal shaft carrying a balance-wheel, C', and grooved belt-drums;

a is a belt which transmits rotary motion from a belt-wheel, D, on a short shaft, I, to a grooved beltdrum onthe shaft C;

d is a spurred pinion' which is keyed on the hub of uheell); and

E is a large spurwheel which .engages with the teeth of and communicates rotary motion to the pinion d.

The spur-wheel E is applied ou a fixed short shaft,

h, and on the cylindrical hub m of this wheel a clutch- 'collar or ring, Gr, is loosely applied, as shown in g. 2.

Air opening is made through the collar Gr into which is pivoted, at i, a clutch-lever, p, so vthatthe reduced end 'm'ot' this lever will bear against the hub m of 'wheel E. 1

The longer arm-'of lever P has a stud, g, applied to it, which stud is received loosely into a hole which is made through a vibrating lever, F, asshown in tig. 1.

This lever F is applied onl the shaft h, and at or near its free end is a foot-rest, f, on which the operator places his foot to work the machine when he sits on a stationary seat.

Several holes, g'g, which may be screw-tapped, are 'made through the lever F- at different distances from the-center ot' shaft 71 into either one of which holes a pivot, e, is applied, which connects a rod, H, to level' l, as shown in iig. I. v

This rod H is pivoted to the vibrating standards J of a seat, K, and used in this manner when it is desired to work the machine by vibrating the seat K. To renderthe seat K stationary, in case it is desired to work the machine by the motion of the foot on the foot-stand f of lever h, the i'od H is detached from said'lever, and itsend rest-ed upon the door, so as to form, in conjunction with the legs or standards J, a fixed supportfor the seat.

The standards Jare in the.present instance pivoted at It to a base, N, which rests upon the floor, and is connected to the bar B of the table-standards B by means o'f hooks n. The base-frame N being thus applied to vthe machine, it will be seen that this frame, with the standards and seat, can be removed from the machine at pleasure.

Motion may be communicated to the driving-shaft of a 'sewing-machine applied on top of the vtable A, from adrum, c, on the shaft C,.by means of a belt` in the usual well-known manner.

In practice I prefer to apply a light. spring, f, be tween the hub G and arm l), so that this arm will not fail to engage itself with the hub of wheel E at vevery working stroke. I do not, however, confine myself to the use o f the. spring, as by keeping the parts well oiled the clutch will work successfully. Ialso prefer to make the foot-stand f adjustable nearer to or further from the axis of motion of the lever F, thereby adapting it to the convenience of different persons.

lt willlbe seenfrom the above description that, by giving a forward-and-backward motion to the lever F, by means of the foot onthe foot-rest g, or by connecting-rodH, to said lever F, and vibrating the seat K, a continuous rotary motion in one direction will be imparted to. the wheel E. This motiou'is produced by the clutch-lever P engaging with the hub of wheel E at each forward stroke, and being released from said hub during 'every backward stroke.

One great advantage in the use of the clutch, as above described, over the rocking pedals hitherto used is, that with the clutch a free forward-and-backward swinging motion of the foot and leg will communicate a rotary motion to the main driving-wheel, which swinging motion will not be as tiresome no r as injurious to the operator as the constant strain of the muscles required to rock the pedals hitherto used.

GAnother advantage attending the luse ofthe swinging clutch as applied byme is, that the movements of' the foot and leg may be shorter or longer, faster or slower, and regular or irregular, and still a regular motion may be imparted to the machine on the table.

Y -`VI do not confine my invention to the use of a vibrating seat, as it has been shown that, with a station- -nry seat and the foot on the foot-rest f, thc machine can be operated with very little physical labor. It will be seen that, by employing the vibrating arm F when the foot is used without the vibrating seat, and applying this arm directly on the shaft oi Wheel E, the weight and pressure of the foot and leg will not operate to retard or produce friction on the hub of the said wheel E. When the vibrating seat'is used to communicate motion to the machine, the arm F may be removed, and the rod H connected directly to the clutch-arm l; or it' it is not desired to remove the arm F, then the rod H may be attached to it, as above stated and shown in fig. 1.

N or do I claim, under this application, the broad principle of a movable power-communicating seat for utilizing the'weight of a person sitting at a sewingmaehine to drive such machine.

Having described my invention,

That I claim-as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The clutch-arm P, constructed as shown, and applied to a sewing-machine or other analogous mechanism, substantially as set forth.

2. As elements of a sewing-machine or other analogous mechanism, the combination of the clutch-arm, constructed and arranged as described, collar G, and wheel E, substantially as set forth.

XVitnesess J. N. CAMPBELL, EDM-F. BROWN.

3. As elements of a sewing-machine or other anal-4 

